Bast was originally a fierce lioness warrior goddess of thesunthroughout most of ancient Egyptian history, but later she was changed into the cat goddess that is familiar today, becoming Bastet. Even later, Greeks occupying ancient Egypt toward the end of its civilization changed her into a goddess of the moon.

As protector ofLower Egypt, Bast, she was seen as defender of the pharaoh, and consequently of the later chief male deity,Ra. Along with the other lioness goddesses, she would occasionally be depicted as the embodiment of theEye of Ra. She has been depicted as fighting the evil snake namedApep, an enemy of Ra.